Chinese shares close slightly higher

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-17 16:12

Chinese share prices closed slightly higher on Friday as the Shanghai Composite Index fluctuated strongly for the whole trading day.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.19 percent, or 6 points, to 3,189.74.

The Shenzhen Component Index gained 0.38 percent, or 50.08 points, to 13,131.97.

Total turnover shrank to 283.6 billion yuan ($41.7 billion) from 332.37 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

Coal stocks led the advance on Friday as optimistic economic future sparked investors' passion for resources companies. The index for the sector rose 4.42 percent as 26 of the 27 stocks in the sector closed higher.

Banks dropped after three consecutive days' rise. The index for the sector was down by 0.94 percent.

Your-Mart, a Hunan-based merchandise retailer, was listed Friday on Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The stock surged 93.56 percent to close at 37.9 yuan on its first trading day, which is far beyond the expected reasonable price of 30 yuan.

The stock market regulator has been worried about the fluctuations of new stocks on their first day of trading. Despite the regulator's warnings, money still rushed to those stocks against the background of ample liquidity.

Guilin Sanjin Pharmaceutical and Wanma Cable, the first two firms approved by the securities regulator to post IPOs after a 10-month halt, debuted on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange last Friday for public trading on the secondary market.

Both of the two stocks rose sharply on their first day of trading and had high turnover rate. Merely five days after its debut, Wanma Cable was urged to stop trading on Friday to investigate whether there is any key information to announce due to the abnormal performance of its share price.

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